The purpose of this study is to collect data and provide evidence on the awareness and perception of intending and returned migrants on the dangers of irregular migration as well as government efforts towards combating the prevalence of irregular migration in Nigeria. This evidence is expected to provide database for policies formulation in line with the increasing demand for data-driving human development initiatives. Although irregular migration is mainly a political issue, but like the Almajiri and house help phenomena, it is also a humanitarian question due to its intricate linkage with vulnerability. Therefore, the 2022 migration survey expanded its focus to cover the two other vulnerable groups namely, Almajiri and House help.

It is expected that the insights provided in this study would enable policymakers to target interventions that address humanitarian needs and mitigate root causes of irregular movement across international borders as well as the state of Almajirinci and house helps. The survey data was collected through the system of National Integrated Survey for Households (NISH) which provided direct interactions with eligible respondents at the households with the help of questionnaires. A total of 2,400 households were sampled from six purposive states from each geopolitical zone, namely: Anambra, Edo, Lagos, Benue, Gombe, and Kano. In general, the key findings of the study revealed that the average age of the respondents is 27 years, about 60.1% of them are from the urban area and 51.8% have attended secondary education.

The study further shows that about 24.9% of the respondents indicated business as a reason for travelling abroad. However, 47.9% gave hardship as the major reason for the return of migrants. Kano state recorded 39.0% which is the highest number of returnees from abroad and 31.8% agreed to detention as the major risk suffered by the returned migrants among others. The Edo state recorded 52.4% of returned migrants who would want to travel back despite the risk suffered during their journey. The fieldworks revealed that 68.2% of the rural households send their children or wards to Almajiri, out of which 98.6% were sent to acquire Quranic education and religious morals. Similarly, 47.7% of the households who give out their members as house help do that to earn a living. 

Data source: National Bureau of Statistics

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